By CHARITY MOONGA-
THE Executive Office of the United Nations (UN) Secretary-General has commended the Zambian Government for doubling its budgetary allocation towards family planning.
Nana Taona Kuo, who is the senior programme officer for Every Woman, Every Child health team in the Executive Office of the Secretary-General, Ban Ki-moon acknowledged the Zambian Government’s prioritisation of the welfare of women and girls.
This is contained in a press statement released by First Secretary for Press and Public Relations at Zambia’s Mission to the UN, Chibaula Silwamba.
Ms Nana said Mr Ban’s office was happy that “The Government of Zambia is committed to strengthening access to and doubling its budgetary allocation to family planning.”
Ms Nana said this during a panel discussion organised by the Permanent Mission of Zambia to the UN, the Every Woman, Every Child and the Global Leaders for Reproductive Health at UN headquarters.
She said due to the progressive policies of President Michael Sata’s Government and his dedication to improve the well-being of Zambians, especially women and girls, the country had won international recognition and elections to major intergovernmental bodies.
“Since the time President Sata appointed Dr Mwaba Kasese-Bota as Permanent Representative and Ambassador to the UN, Zambia has been elected to the board of UNICEF,the bureau of the UN Committee on Information, chair of the 32-Member State Landlocked Developing Countries (LLDCs) Group, and Southern African countries chose Zambia to represent the region on the UN Open Working Group on Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs),” she said.
Dr Kasese-Bota and the staff of the Zambian Mission spearheaded the drafting and overwhelming adoption, by the UN Third Committee, of a resolution aimed at ending child, early and forced marriages worldwide.
Over the last two years, the Zambian Mission had organised several panel discussions on various topics at UN Headquarters that were promoting Zambia’s profile on the international arena.
Meanwhile, Planned Parenthood Association of Zambia, executive director Edford Mutuma says the Zambian Government has shown strong leadership in family planning.
He said Zambia had doubled the budget for contraceptives.
Mr Mutuma called for involvement of men in empowerment of women with regard to their sexual and reproductive health, including family planning.

By JUDITH NAMUTOWE -
THE Zambezi River Authority (ZRA) has said the feasibility study on the Batoka Hydropower Station has been reviewed.
ZRA chief executive officer Munyaradzi Munodawafa said in an interview yesterday that the review on the demo structure, power house and capacity output on the project had been completed.
Mr Munodawafa said the authority was currently waiting for the second phase of the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA).
‘‘We have reviewed the Batoka Hydropower Station feasibility study. The study on the demo structure, power house structure and the capacity output on the project has been completed,’’ Mr Munodawafa said.
He said the finalisation of the study and the EIA was expected to be completed in the first quarter of 2015.
Mr Munodawfa said consultants were currently working on other processes and thereafter the project committee which include senior Government officials , utilities and ZRA would visit the project this month.
He said once all these processes were completed, ZRA would then be able to select the developer for the project, after which the authority would be able to come up with the actual value of the project.
Zambia and Zimbabwe signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to team up and start the Batoka hydropower project which is estimated to cost about US$4 billion.
The agreement was signed during the council of ministers held at Kariba in Siavonga recently.